Method of packing egg content



Patented Jan. 26, 1932 1,842,733

UNITED STATES PATENT omen-z MARVIN C. REYNOLDS, 01 OAK PARK, AND BENJAMIN HARRIS, O1 GHIOQAGO, ILLINOIS METHOD OF PACKING EGG $ONEEEN'.I'.'

No Drawing. Application filed June 27, 1928. Serial No. 374,271.

@ur invention relates to certain new and sary to distribute said modifying agents uniuseiul improvements in the art of packing formly. In the case of solid powders such eggs, an object being to provide a method of as salts like sodium chloride, orv dextrose, or packing egg content substantially free of cane sugar and'their equivalents they usually 5 admixed oxygen and foam and an improved contain adsorbed or occluded air. When 65 product resulting therefrom. such suitable powdered modifying agents are In packing eggs, the egg shell is broken added to whole mixed cg ,commercial yolks, and the edible contents mixed and weighed, and whites, they introduce more air which inusually, into cans, which are subsequently creases the foam on mixing.

to placed in cold storage; or on breaking the In all cases where agitation is employed, '0 eggs, the contents are separated into comeither for the purpose of homogeneously dismercial yolks and whites and these two pr0d tributin added ingredients to the egg mateucts are separately weighed into cans and rial or or the purpose of merely rendering stored atlow cold storage temperatures. .the egg material homogeneous, varying In the case of the whole egg and commercial amounts of air-inadvertently are mixed into yolk products, mixing is desirable so as to the eggmaterial. This we have discovered is produce a homogeneous product. Whole undesirable from two standpoints. eggs contain about one third yolk and about In the first place, the incorporated air tends two thirds white. Commercially separated to cause various kinds of deterioration due to 20 yolks also contain a considerable amount of the action of the oxygen, which is admixed white material. The yolk and whites are of, with the egg material. In the second place, different composition, and different physical a certain amount of the incorporated air properties such as viscosity and do not readily floats up to the surface and causes the formamix with each other. In order to get a homotion of objectionable foam at the top of the 25 geneous product it is necessary to agitate and contents of the container. break up the yolk sac and mix the various We obviate both of these disadvantages egg constituents. On mixing, however, a and any others, which the incorporation of considerable amount of air or other gas air entails, by doing the mixing substantially which may be present is incorporated and disin vacuo. Any suitable closed kettle equipped 3 persed into thewhites, forming a large with an agitator and designed so that airmay amount of foam. The foam is a dis rsion be pumped out of it is satisfactory for the of the air or gas into water phase sta ilized purpose. by the egg White lb mins and proteins. We do not desire to claim as part of our -Such mixed egg product will also contain invention, any particulardesign of equipfoam. Particularly is mixing necessary, ment, nor do. we limit ourselves to any specific even in the case of egg whites, when modifydegree of evacuation. In practice, we eming ingredients are. added to alter the properploy a vacuum of about 28 (arenerally ties of the egg product. These modifying speaking, the more complete the evacuation, agents may be crystalloids such as sugars, the greater the advantages accruing from the salts, acids, or polyhydric alcohols or mateuse of our process. 9 rials of various other kinds and suflicient a i- In instances where comminuted solid matation is necessary to dissolve them in t e terials are to be dissolved or dispersed in the water of the egg material in the case ofwaegg material, it is preferable to exhaust the M ter soluble materials, or to emulsify or susair mechanically enclosed among the solid pend them in the case of Water insoluble maparticles by submitting them to evacuation terials. prior to mixing. This may be done by first For many purposes to which mixed egg introducing the solid material into the mix yolks or whites are used, it isadvisable to add ing equipment, evacuating the apparatus and 50 some modifying agents which are either in then introducing" the egg materlal and ag1- I 0 liquid or in powdered f01fin, and it is necestating it. Or, if desired, the egg material 0 may be introduced first into the mixing unit which is provided with a hopper which may be so constructed in relation to the mixing equipment that the dry material to be introduced into the egg substance is evacuated while in this .hopper .and subsequently introduced by a suitable valve into the evacuated mixing chamber.

An alternative method, although not as desirable as those described above, in instances where modifying ingredients are tobe introduced into the egg material is to make a slight preliminary mixing under ordinary,

atmospheric conditions, then close the mixing equipment, evacuate and completethe mixing in vacuo.

- The mixed products are then introduced into cans and either used directly or kept at low temperatures in cold storage or frozen to an immobile condition at sufficiently low temperature depending upon the composi-' tion of the product. Such'can of egg material either modified, or not modified, with modifying agents, in a cold state, or in a frozen condition, or in a-thawed out condition, being preliminarily frozen will contain.

less foam than if the egg material were mixed in the presence of air or gas.

An example of one way in which we practice our invention is as follows: We introduce 270 lbs. of commercial yolk material and lbs. of flake butter salt into the mixture. We close the apparatus and evacuate it to about 28 to 29", whichis easily possible within one minute with a pump of suitable capacity, and we then mix for three minutes.

Now we open the apparatus to the atmos-.

phere and draw the material out through the. bottom discharge. This gives asalttreated yolk substantially free of admixed oxygen and substantially free of foam. This product may be used directly or it may be kept in cold storage until ready for use, at temperatures above freezing or frozen to an immobile state. It may then be removed from storage as'desired for use, thawed out and poured or otherwise removed from the container.

Another exam 1e of the way in which we may practice our invention follows We,introduce 200 lbs. of fine granulated cane sugar into themixing machine, close it and evacuate it by means of avalve. We now shut ofi the evacuated mixing unit from the .pump, thereby closing all inlets and outlets of the mixing unit. Through a suitably arranged valve we now suck in 100 lbs. of

whites and shutoff immediately after the whites are in so that no air is admitted into the apparatus. We now agitate until the sugar is dissolved, (if the egg whites are cold, the mixing .unit should be provided with. a Warm water jacket) After the sugar 60 is dissolved we.open the apparatus to the atmosphere and withdraw the product." This gives a sugar treated egg white substantially free of foam and free of admixed air.

What We claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is 1. The process of producing a frozen egg product which comprises adding to egg material a dry comminuted treating material, agitating the egg material and treating material together in a vacuum to produce a homogeneous mixture, running the mixture into containers, and freezing the mixture in chloride to egg material, agitating the egg material and sodium chloride together in a vacuum to produce a homogeneous mixture, running the mixture into containers, and freezing the mixture in the containers to produce a uniform frozen egg product substan tially free of foam and entrapped air.

In witness whereof we hereunto subscribe our names this 14th day of June, 1929.

MARVIN C. .REYNOLDS. BENJAMIN R. HARRIS. 

